Joshua 8:14-23

14The king of Ai saw that Israel's army had arrived. Early the next morning, the king and his army hurried out of the city. They wanted to fight against Israel's army at the same place as before, on the hill near the Jordan Valley. But the king of Ai did not know that some Israelite soldiers were hiding behind the city.

15Joshua and his army let the men of Ai chase after them. They pretended to be afraid. They ran towards the desert.

16The king told all the men who remained in the city to chase the Israelites. So they continued to chase after them, far away from their city.

17No men remained in Ai or Bethel. They all chased after the Israelites. There was nobody left to keep the city safe.

18Then the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Hold out the spear that is in your hand. Point it towards Ai. I am now giving the city to you.’ So Joshua held out his spear towards Ai.

19As soon as he did this, the men who were hiding behind the city came out quickly. They ran into the city and they took it. Immediately, they used fire to burn it.

20The men of Ai looked behind them and they saw smoke in the sky above the city. But they could do nothing to escape. The Israelites who had been running away from them now turned round to fight them.

21Joshua and his army also saw the smoke. They knew that the other group of soldiers had taken the city. So they turned round and began to attack the men of Ai.

22Now the Israelites who had gone into the city also came out to fight. So the men of Ai were in between the two groups of Israelite soldiers. The Israelites killed all the men of Ai.

23Only the king of Ai was still alive. They caught him and they took him to Joshua.